I was talking to a camper at the next site the other day and he said he got lots more use out of his grey tank by leaving the valve open a bit so it slowly would continuously drain...and then when he left a site, if they didn't have a dump station, he left the valve slightly open so it would drip out while driving and he'd get home with an empty tank...Aside from the ethical implications of this, I was thinking that the tank might get sludged up from not having a good quick flush when dumping the regular way?...Anyone else admit to doing this? (now if you do it with your black water...I don't even want to hear about it!)

I won't admit to that because I don't do it, and especially not at my site! Now, I have been known to stealth dump in out of the way places where nobody goes. And yes, trickle draining, over time, will clog stuff up.

Well...to be a bit more fair....He was telling me that he only did it where he was camping in an open field situation rather than a groomed campground site.........But still!.....

limbery wrote:Well...to be a bit more fair....He was telling me that he only did it where he was camping in an open field situation rather than a groomed campground site.........But still!.....When he gets enough sludge in the bottom of the tank to clog the tank's outflow opening, he'll start looking for dump stations. ;)

Not to mention the fact that it is illegal to dump on the roads, clean or not, and not sanitary anywhere else for that matter, I imagine it could also cause sludge buildup like you say.

We camp a lot in Oregon State Parks. They have sink water drains in all the loops.On occasion I have drained GRAY water into a 5 gallon bucket and walk it over to one of the nearby drains.

Letting the grey water out a bit to extend it's use?

40 Replies

WandaLust2
Explorer
May 29, 2013
Trackrig wrote:
So what does a tent camper do with his dish water?

Bill

I saw tent campers catching their gray water in a pail in a CG in NYS. They took it into the bathroom, presumably to dump it down the toilet or sink.
limbery
Explorer
May 29, 2013
spike99 wrote:
qtla9111 wrote:
spike99 wrote:
.

Just imagine.... One is riding a peddle bike at side of road and a TT goes flying by. Then, one feels a wet black dot on one's face or one's front teeth. Or, perhaps on one's glasses. Did that TT have an open tank valve?

Sure hope they make open TT valves illegal - for ethical and sanitation reasons... IMO, all TT valves closed and safety cap is applied!!!

I'd love to see the statistics of rvers who have suffered illnesses from grey and black tank residuals. Ridiculous!

Ok then. Here... I'll get an empty cup, let my TT's grey water tank pour into the empty cup and you can drink it. Open wide!!!!

Would you drink it? Will you let you kids drink it? I dare!!!

This is why people wear gloves (instead of using bare hands) at TT dumping stations... And, why professional Plumbers wear gloves when removing old piping as well. Hopefully, you don't use bare hands.

Like you said, "Ridiculous!" to purposely expose the body to such bacteria invested waste discharge.

How about a guy riding a bike along a road and feels a spatter of wet stuff on his forehead....birds do fly over and occasionally let go of their black water tanks...
BTW....Are you aware that pretty much all of the vegetables you eat were watered with city grey water that's been very minimally treated?
JJBIRISH
Explorer
May 29, 2013
qtla9111 wrote:
spike99 wrote:
.

Just imagine.... One is riding a peddle bike at side of road and a TT goes flying by. Then, one feels a wet black dot on one's face or one's front teeth. Or, perhaps on one's glasses. Did that TT have an open tank valve?

Sure hope they make open TT valves illegal - for ethical and sanitation reasons... IMO, all TT valves closed and safety cap is applied!!!

I'd love to see the statistics of rvers who have suffered illnesses from grey and black tank residuals. Ridiculous!

Come on, talk about rediculious, while recycling gray water is possible, and maybe preferable in some areas, no one including the information you provided suggest to just dump gray water on the ground…
they do not recommend storing gray water for use without treatment…
they do not recommend it for food producing gardens…
nor do they recommend using more of it than can be handled by the ground and that wouldn’t be guess work…
safely reusing gray water, especially stored gray water involves much more than pulling a handle…
dave54
Nomad
May 29, 2013
I could make my trash bag last longer by throwing a little of my trash out the window as I drive.

Same thing.
Chuck_Gail
Explorer
May 29, 2013
Never done it, and if I see that filthy slob doing it I'll call the campground or the cops and report him. What a PIG! Ooops, sorry, I just insulted a pig.
bcsslc
Explorer
May 29, 2013
When ever we have a camp fire I always load up about 3 to 5 gal of gray in a bucket and have it ready to go if needed or use to put the fire out at the end of the night. I figure it is a responsible and good use of limited resources when in the backcountry.
spike99
Explorer
May 29, 2013
qtla9111 wrote:
spike99 wrote:
.

Just imagine.... One is riding a peddle bike at side of road and a TT goes flying by. Then, one feels a wet black dot on one's face or one's front teeth. Or, perhaps on one's glasses. Did that TT have an open tank valve?

Sure hope they make open TT valves illegal - for ethical and sanitation reasons... IMO, all TT valves closed and safety cap is applied!!!

I'd love to see the statistics of rvers who have suffered illnesses from grey and black tank residuals. Ridiculous!

Ok then. Here... I'll get an empty cup, let my TT's grey water tank pour into the empty cup and you can drink it. Open wide!!!!

Would you drink it? Will you let you kids drink it? I dare!!!

This is why people wear gloves (instead of using bare hands) at TT dumping stations... And, why professional Plumbers wear gloves when removing old piping as well. Hopefully, you don't use bare hands.

Like you said, "Ridiculous!" to purposely expose the body to such bacteria invested waste discharge.
qtla9111
Nomad
May 29, 2013
spike99 wrote:
.

Just imagine.... One is riding a peddle bike at side of road and a TT goes flying by. Then, one feels a wet black dot on one's face or one's front teeth. Or, perhaps on one's glasses. Did that TT have an open tank valve?

Sure hope they make open TT valves illegal - for ethical and sanitation reasons... IMO, all TT valves closed and safety cap is applied!!!

I'd love to see the statistics of rvers who have suffered illnesses from grey and black tank residuals. Ridiculous!
spike99
Explorer
May 29, 2013
.

Just imagine.... One is riding a peddle bike at side of road and a TT goes flying by. Then, one feels a wet black dot on one's face or one's front teeth. Or, perhaps on one's glasses. Did that TT have an open tank valve?

Sure hope they make open TT valves illegal - for ethical and sanitation reasons... IMO, all TT valves closed and safety cap is applied!!!
qtla9111
Nomad
May 29, 2013
I guess we need to do a little homework. How much fresh processed water do we use to eliminate gray water in a city system or a septic tank? When in reality grey or gray water can be used to water crops, yards, house plants, and even be used for a first rinse on clothes washing. Does grey water smell bad? Sometimes. Sometimes you smell bad, but we don't put you down a septic tank or water system. Everything that decomposes smells funny. Get back to nature and being human. Here are just a few of a thousand examples.

The Truth About Grey Water

Using Grey Water to Help Plants Survive A Hot Summer

Water Recycle

How Gray Water Reclamation Works